


Shield

by thenthekneehits



Series: Tiny Tumblr Drabbles [3]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst, Blood, Injury, M/M, Pining, Pining Rhett, Protective Rhett, Protectiveness, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2015-09-16
Packaged: 2018-04-21 02:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4810559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenthekneehits/pseuds/thenthekneehits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a prompt I received for <a href="http://thenthekneehits.tumblr.com/post/120284591011/send-me-a-pairing-and-a-line-of-dialogue-and-ill">this post</a>:</p>
<p> <em>Hello! Love your little angsty ficlets so far. You've managed to cram a lot of emotion into such a tight space. Beautiful and painful, just the way I like it ;) Are you still accepting prompts? How about this one, Rhett to Link: “Shit, are you bleeding?!”</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Shield

It was hot out. Even the wind felt like it was trying to roast Rhett’s cheeks. He’d taken his shirt off and left it in the car, but now he wondered if it would’ve been a better idea to keep it on as a shield from the sun.

He’d managed to convince Link to get shirtless along with him, though, so he could take the burn.

Walking around looking for better shade than what the sparse trees provided, they found a pond.

They’d just really wanted to take a long drive now that Rhett had his license. The old car turned too hot to stay in, and Rhett feared it might overheat somehow, so they took a break. The outside air was little cooler than the inside of the car, but this pond made it worth it.

It was quite small, but deep enough to swim in and deep enough for it to still be blessedly cool.

Despite wanting to just float still in the water and let it cool his skin, Rhett wouldn’t pass an opportunity like this. He started a waterfight with Link, shirtless Link with water dripping everywhere on him, his underwear just a little see-through (Rhett had convinced him to discard his shorts at the bank of the pond) and his skin glistening everywhere, despite how much Rhett’s heat-muddled head protested all the movement.

The boys saw the cliff pretty quickly. Rhett didn’t like heights, but he wasn’t a wuss either. Link still went first, calling out as he dropped into the water. The cliff was quite low, not providing too much thrill, their feet hitting the soft muddy bottom as they dropped. They took turns jumping off it in different formations.

Then they jumped at the same time, wanting to see which one made a bigger splash (even though Rhett was somewhat unsure how they were going to assess the splashes if they were both underwater).

Regardless of what method Link would choose to use, Rhett knew he’d win. He was bigger. They jumped to seperate edges of the pond to make sure they wouldn’t collide.

The strength of Rhett’s cannonball caused his knees to sink into the gross muddy floor of the pond, but it was worth it. There was no way he hadn’t won.

Once he surfaced, he opened his mouth to jeer at Link’s head peeking out of the water. Then he saw the fact that Link was struggling trying to swim to the shore, his breath much more labored than it should be, his head bowed low.

“Link?” he called out.

“Hit a rock,” Link let out, and his sobs along with it.

Rhett swam a few strokes to the shore on his own side and ran to the other side of the pond, dragging Link out of the water.

The boy’s legs were mostly covered in mud so Rhett couldn’t see anything. He arranged them back into the water to rub off most of the mud, Link lying on his back, breathing loudly still and whimpering when Rhett hurt him. Rhett could tell he was trying hard to quiet down his sobbing.

“Shit, are you bleeding?!” he cursed when the gashes on Link’s left leg became visible.

Link laughed behind him, nervous giggles brokenly bursting out.

Blood was now trailing down Link’s leg, undisturbed by mud. There was a steady flow and Rhett felt like he almost saw something white in the deepest gash when he cleaned it with water.

“Link, we need to get back to the car.”

They were so far from home and Rhett didn’t know where the closest hospital was. Should he try to drive two hours to get to the hospital he knew, or drive to the closest town and ask somebody where the hospital is?

“Link, get up,” Rhett demanded as he pulled his friend off the ground. They had no time to waste.

Link stood on one leg, saw the other, and fainted.

Rhett grabbed onto him. He wanted to pick up their shorts, too aware of how well he could see the outline through Link’s wet white underwear, but he was also scared of dropping Link. He managed to lower Link onto the ground, put his own shorts back on and gently inch Link’s up the boy’s legs as well, the blood instantly staining the shorts.

How much bleeding was too much bleeding? Had Link cut an artery?

He somewhat dragged Link all the way back to the car, cursing how far they’d traipsed and how he wasn’t strong enough to carry his friend the whole way. His best friend.

When he got to the car, he drove aimlessly until he found an adult to help them, his blurry vision scaring him further. He felt powerless and weak, not able to protect Link. In the hospital he vowed never to have a need to feel that way again. He’d cover Link with himself, a barrier to keep the world out, he’d be the one to form a bridge through which Link could pass to safety, he’d be the one stuck at his side and constantly ready to jump in front.

**Author's Note:**

> [the post on tumblr](http://thenthekneehits.tumblr.com/post/120347083966/hello-love-your-little-angsty-ficlets-so-far)


End file.
